Superhero movie casting can often be a hectic thing, with plenty of well-known actors being incredibly late additions to popular films and TV shows. In a modern age of movie making in which stars brought aboard to franchised superhero movies can and will be expected to sign lengthy contracts guaranteeing years of appearances, it’s no surprise that studios tend to deliberate carefully on whom the faces of their most beloved characters will be. But this hasn’t always been the case, with many down-to-the-wire casting decisions that often wound up paying off big time.
Many times, these last-minute castings are the result of other actors suddenly dropping out in the days leading up to or even during filming. It turns out that some of the most iconic superhero movie roles were very late substitutions, filling in for other performers who find their way out of a given film’s production due to other obligations, injuries, or grating creative differences. Other times, casting directors are simply hard-pressed to make a decision, taking every last second possible to deliberate on who should be the one to claim a career-defining superhero role.
9 Hugh Jackman Replaced Dougray Scott As Wolverine
X-Men (2000)
It’s hard to imagine anyone else as Wolverine today other than Hugh Jackman — Though he may be more vertically gifted than the canonically short-in-stature Logan, the Australian actor perfectly embodies the ferocity, cynicism, and unspoken coolness the character requires. It’s surprising to realize that Hugh Jackman was only a very late-in-the-game substitution for Dougray Scott, who was prevented from donning Wolverine’s claws due to filming for Mission: Impossible 2 going over schedule. Thankfully, Hugh Jackman’s performance gave audiences one of the best superhero castings of all time.
8 Gemma Chan Was One Of The Last Eternals Cast
Eternals (2021)
Eternals had a massive ensemble cast, and it couldn’t have been an easy task to nominate actors who the already sprawling MCU hadn’t already featured. Despite being such an integral character to the film, Gemma Chan’s Sersi was one of the last roles to be ironed out, due to concerns over her previous MCU appearance as Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel being flagged as possibly too confusing for audiences. Though Eternals might not be the most well-received MCU film, it’s a good thing that the superhero movie studio giant isn’t afraid to recast familiar faces if the role is appropriate enough.
7 Anette Bening’s Pregnancy Led To Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman
Batman Returns (1992)
One of the all-time greatest live-action Catwoman actresses, Michelle Pfeiffer brought a sensual deadliness to the role while still leaving room for the alter ego of Selina Kyle to shine through. This makes it all the more shocking that Pfeiffer was only second-in-line for the latex cat suit, tagging in for Anette Bening due to her pregnancy interfering with the role’s physical demands. It’s a shame Bening’s career wasn’t able to be infused with a dose of Batman star power, but Pfeiffer’s unforgettable Catwoman left an impression to stand the test of time.
6 Tom Hiddelston Was Nearly Thor Instead Of Loki
Thor (2011)
Marvel has perhaps never gone back and forth so much on such an important casting role as they did with Thor. A founding Avengers member, Chris Hemsworth had to contend with his own brother, Liam Hemsworth, in casting auditions. While Liam was favored for the role, making the top five final competitors, his age was the ultimate deciding factor, causing Marvel to defer to Chris (via People.com). Tom Hiddelston, himself a relative unknown at the time, was also given a crack at being the God of Thunder in screen tests before instead landing the part of Loki, one of the best casting decisions in MCU history.
5 Scarlett Johansson Substituted Emily Blunt As Black Widow
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Appearing early on in the MCU, the casting of the femme fatale Black Widow would go on to have huge ramifications for the Phases to come. Originally, Emily Blunt was cast, excited to cut her teeth on playing the Russian super spy. Unfortunately, an earlier contract dragged her from Marvel Studios and on to the set of the ill-fated Fox movie, 2010’s Gulliver’s Travels. While it was a shame to lose Emily Blunt’s enthusiasm, Scarlett Johansson is an undeniably great Natasha Romanoff, even for taking up the role so late in the game.
4 Mark Ruffalo Found Out He Was Hulk At The Same Time Fans Did
The Avengers (2012)
While Edward Norton was originally slated to be the MCU’s Hulk, he wound up being replaced by Mark Ruffalo from his second appearance onwards, who does an excellent job capturing Bruce Banner’s fractured psyche, genius, and unhinged sense of danger. Details behind Ruffalo taking the role of Hulk from Norton are still murky, but bristly public statements put out by both Marvel Studios and Norton suggest a sour relationship stemming from creative differences. Either way, Ruffalo only discovered he had got the part when a car arrived to take him to Comic-Con to make the announcement (via Fandomwire).
3 Gary Oldman Subbed In As Commissioner Gordon
Batman Begins (2005)
Gary Oldman is a truly transformative actor, who was able to rock Commissioner Gordon’s signature caterpillar mustache while still bringing the drama, gravitas, and sense of tired desperation the character conveyed in Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. Yet the acclaimed actor had originally only been passed over for the role of Scarecrow in Batman Begins, losing out to longtime Nolan collaborator Cilian Murphy. It was only when Ocar-winner Chris Cooper passed on the role of Gordon, not wanting to spend so much time away from his family, that Oldman got his foot in the door of Nolan’s groundbreaking superhero trilogy.
2 Freddie Stroma Replaced Chris Conrad’s Vigilante During Filming
Peacemaker (2022)
Every single member of Peacemaker‘s ensemble cast truly gave it their all, James Gunn’s spin-off show requiring talent that could juggle terse character studies with irreverent comedy. Though Freddie Stroma does an excellent job making a lovable nerd out of a serial killer as Vigilante, he actually replaced Chris Conrad, known for Young Hercules, halfway through filming. Thanks to the nature of Vigilante’s full-body costume, some footage of Conrad even made it into the show, Conrad choosing to amicably drop out after being unable to creatively sync with James Gunn’s direction.
1 A Horseriding Accident Led To Kim Basinger’s Vicky Vale
Batman (1989)
As Batman’s love interest, reporter Vicky Vale was one of the most important parts for Tim Burton’s dark resurrection of Batman to nail, making it all the more shocking that an on-set injury was the impetous for Kim Basinger’s casting. Before, Blade Runner actress Sean Young was cast as Vale and even made it to filming, being taken out of the action when an unfortunate accident during a deleted horse-riding scene incapacitated her for further scenes. As a result, Kim Basinger stepped in to re-shoot Vicky’s scenes, lending her talents to one of the best superhero movie romances of all time.
